Review of Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986) by Luke S — 30 Apr 2011

This third instalment of the Police Academy series sees those wacky academy graduates settled in to their jobs and policing their neighbourhoods like they've been doing it their whole lives. But when they receive word that Commandant Lassard is in need of help Mahoney, Jones, Tackleberry, Hightower, Hooks and Fackler rush to his aid.

Officer Mauser, Mahoney and his comrades' internal enemy in the second movie, has since been promoted to Commandant and is now running his own police academy. The financial feasibility of running two police academies proves undoable however, and so one of them is to be closed permanently.

To aid in this decision a panel of judges has been appointed to study each academy in action for one week, ultimately to come to an educated conclusion as to which is the better run academy and so should remain operational.

So Lassard asks his old friends if they'll stay on at his academy as special instructors. They all agree and immediately set to work in training the current crop of recruits to the best of their ability, hoping it will be enough to edge out Mauser's academy in the competition.

But when the recruits in question include the small statured and overly nervous Mr. Sweetchuk, the leader of the gang they busted in the last movie, Zed, as well as Fackler's crazy wife . . . all bets are off! Combined with some interference run by Mauser and his stooges, Lassard's crew quickly find themselves behind the 8-ball.

But they soldier on and during the last day of competition both academies find themselves in the middle of a high profile robbery that will test the mettle of all recruits involved. Will Lassard's bunch have the cojones to pull it off and ensure their future? This is another excellent slap stick comedy and welcome addition to the Police Academy franchise.

As I said about the second film I've loved the Zed character since I was a kid and in this third film he starts to play a much larger part. My favourite part of the movie is how the relationship between him and Sweetchuk unfolds, as they get paired off as roommates at the academy right from the get go.

Hilarious! I liked this film just as much as the original.